My Gaurdian Angel
by Nikkoryu
Summary: In Buddha's eyes, he cheated his way through death, never to go through his proper cycle. His last seconds are ticking slowly away, leaving him to grasp whatever heaven he can find, before he's cursed to stay through death in the land of the living. But c


**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I do not own any Inuyasha characters. I can dream though, can't I?

**Summary:** In Buddha's eyes, he cheated his way through death, never to go through his proper cycle. His last seconds are ticking slowly away, leaving him to grasp whatever heaven he can find, before he's cursed to stay through death in the land of the living. But can he still save his friends?

**Full Summary: **Love, pain, and vengeance. Miroku's last days are tearful and agonizing, and when he finally dies, the group slowly moves on, his memory still lost in the hearts. But Miroku's not leaving that easily. When he's set to live on the earth as Sango's Guardian Angel, Naraku is at his highest. Can he still save his loved ones, or will they all leave as he did?

"No one's death comes to pass without making some impression,

and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer

in their humaneness."

**Hermann Broch**

* * *

_I didn't think I could have ever seen it coming. _

_The last thing I saw was the look on Sango's face. I hated to see her look the way she did. It frightened me to see her so horrified, let alone the sting at my heart when she cried. For me. It was because of me that she had cried. Or maybe it was Kohaku that made her feel that way. What he had done could never have been forgiven by her, though I, myself, had forgiven him even before he did what he did. _

_The day changed so quickly. It looked like we would've had a single day of peace, without any tricks of Naraku's. No demons had come by, the village was at peace, even Kagome and Inuyasha had taken a break from their constant bickering for the while. Nothing was out of the ordinary, for now at least. _

_Sango had gone off on her own. She said everything was alright, but her expression and shaky voice were more than enough to tell she wasn't. Did she really believe we thought she was alright? Even Shippo knew there was something up, yet she refused it and turned down our attempts to go with her. _

_Curiosity clawed at me and I couldn't just watch her leave like that. So I followed. She would hate me afterwards, but I wasn't going to let her leave like she had. _

_And I guess that's what did me in. Her tearful eyes seemed enough to show me all the pain her heart had kept in. Simple crying couldn't cover up all of that pain. She was strong. A weaker one would have probably gone mad from the darkness she had felt. We all felt her pain. Known what she was going through, but at that moment, I don't think any of us could have compared. _

_Even so, no pain in the world could compare to that in which I recieved in only seeing her bleed crimson and blue._

_For her brother._

_For her life._

_For me._

* * *

"Kohaku... How can you do this?... don't you... remember me?...At all?" 

Kohaku had finally cornered Sango into a tree after she had fallen. His hateful eyes staring down at his older sister, no remorse, or any emotion at that, showed on his face. His lips were curled so slightly downwards that not even he was sure that he was frowning, but Sango could tell. He didn't want Naraku controlling him like this.

Master said she would hurt him, that she had hurt him. Had she? He didn't know. He scratched at his memories but still had no clue what his life was about. Except for Master. Master ordered - he followed. No second opinions. Master was all that he knew of, and if he said she would hurt him, he had to take care of this woman.

Hiraikotsu was only a few feet away, but it might as well be back in the hut, it was no use to her anymore, and the katana she had once held had been neatly jammed into a tree trunk, refusing to budge from its post.

The rough bark of the tree behind her dug into the small of her back, reminding her there was no escape route for her to leave Kohaku. She was practically just sitting there, waiting and staring death in the face.

_How? How could he do this to me? It was almost if he had no will at all anymore. I never believed Naraku had fully taken over my brother. There was always a hope of mine the flickered for my younger brother, that he still had some of his memory, that he would never kill me, but I was wrong. _

_I guess I shouldn't have been so foolish to doubt Naraku. Kohaku was led on by him now, just another pawn in his dastardly game, and now it looked as if he were winning. I no longer had any grasp at all on Kohaku, and now the only loved one I had left was going to finish me off like that of which he did to the rest of our village of demon slayers. _

_And there was no one to save me this time. Why? Why did I insist on going out by myself? Did I know Kohaku would be here? Was that why I pushed away my friends? It's not their fight, it's mine. I have to settle this by myself. But right now, I dearly wish I had accepted even Shippo's gesture to come with me. _

The pain of it all hit her like a truck. She had fallen for Naraku's trickery. All along, she knew that he had planned to kill her, using her brother and her frozen, painful memories to do so. Yet she continued on, doubting Naraku's ways, thus falling deeper into his ingenious plot. And all in all, Naraku just had to sit back and watch the fun.

She tore her eyes away from the scene, refusing to look at her young brother raise his chained weapon above his head.

Sango was already hurt badly, as was Kohaku. She had managed to make a few minor cuts and scrapes to him, one serious blow to his shoulder by hiraikotsu, but he had done far worse. Blood stained her head where he had first hit her, very hard at that, and several other wounds, still madly gushing blood, could be spotted easily on her arms and chest.

This was it. Surely he would kill her. The few seconds that ticked away felt like hours. The steady beat of Kohaku's heart and the rapid pace of Sango's. She could hear it thudding against her chest, and it grew faster every time she thought that she was just lying helplessly, waiting for him to finish her off.

Unshed tears clung to her eyes, refusing to leave their resting spot. She wasn't going to give Naraku the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

The sound Kohaku's chain made as it ripped its way through the air made the young taiji-ya shudder. Death was stalking her, and seconds from now it would pierce her already dead soul.

Blood splattered on the ground, the horrible sound of it along with Kohaku pulling away his weapon shortened Sango's breath, made her tremble, her knees were shaking and her nails dug into the dirt, preparing for the oncoming pain that she should have felt.

But... she hadn't felt it. Nothing at all. Was this how death felt? Like nothing? As empty as her heart had been the day she watched her family members and villagers find their way into a death bed? Had they felt this as well? Or was Naraku simply putting on another trick, a failed attempt to get her to kill her younger brother? Perhaps, an error to his plot?

Reluctantly, her heavy eye lids forced their way open, screaming with curiosity and pain. Pain that her brother had been set to kill her, and how he hadn't.

The sight in front of her gave her more than enough grief. Her eyes grew wide and her lip trembled, the tears that had once denied moving were now running aimlessly down her cheeks, falling from her cheeks to the ground below her, staining her eyes.

She couldn't believe the sight. She refused to believe it..

His eyes wide and the back of his clothes, ripped and spattered with blood, Miroku fell to his knees, his hands clutching the ground beneath him. His head was hung low, his dark bangs covering his face so Sango wouldn't be able to see his horrid reaction.

Miroku was never one to be fearful. She had watched him. In battle, she feared for her life. Though struggling to keep the same expression on her face, the sight of youkai both thrilled and intensified her. They froze her blood and she had faced them many times, still knowing that, unguarded, they could easily claim her soul. Yet when she watched Miroku fight, he never showed a sign of fear or remorse. He seemed to fear nothing. He boldly marched into inevitable death, as she did, but never did he show fear and always did he succeed.

He was strong, and it pained her whenever it looked like even he was even the slightest bit weak, in trouble. Staring death in the eye, Miroku lead every day knowing his life was shorter than his friends, yet he lived on, happily, more than Sango ever dreamed of living, and he had gone through more than she ever wanted to know.

And now, he was scared more than he had ever been. Not for his own life, but for Sango's. How close she had been to dying right there had made him solicitous. He couldn't watch the woman he cared for die. He refused it. He could have easily just pulled the weapon into his kazaana, but that would mean maybe pulling Sango and Kohaku in as well, and that would've been worse than death. Giving himself for her was the only choice he had, and no regrets stuck to him after he had.

"Houshi-sama!" Falling to the ground beside him and ignoring the presence of Kohaku, Sango stared intently at the monk.

How, why, did he come? Sango had not told anyone of Kohaku, not even she knew that he was perhaps waiting for her. It was a mere feeling of hers that he would be there, a sickening feeling that was in her gut. So how did Miroku know to come for her? She had bitterly turned down Shippo and Kagome's attempts to go with her, make sure everything was alright, yet this monk insisted on following her? Why would he do that?

Through their journeys he had proved to her that they were nothing more than friends, acquaintances and comrades in arms during battle. Sango felt like dirt, knowing that Miroku thought of her only as this. She was just another ass to grope along the way in their journey. Miroku showed no more affection other than that. So why would he choose to protect her, possibly give up his own life for her?

Miroku uttered small gasps of air, the blood trickling down his back and the dirt beneath his hands stained from both it and Sango's tears. He forced his fixed gaze up towards the place where Kohaku had stood.

It seemed Kohaku had run away. Maybe Naraku had let a small sign of remorse show for the young taiji-ya. Of course, let his thoughts expose themselves just after he had done his dirty work. Typical of Naraku. Foolish and bastardly were his ways of tormenting with people's feelings, and he simply laughed and found pleasure amongst their pain and suffering.

Miroku uttered small gasps and fell backwards, sitting upwards and staring blankly ahead, frowning and letting the pain in his back slowly sink in. The way he felt was worse than that he had ever known from his kazaana. It was as if thousands of men were plunging arrows into his back.

Sango never scrutinized his wounds. How he felt right now was no mystery- a simple glance at him could tell of the adversity he was in.

Kohaku's weapon was small, but very powerful. She remembered when, one morning when she and her brother were practicing with their weapons, he had lost his grip and sent the chain flying at Sango. Although it was only a tiny slash to her shoulder it pained Sango to move for weeks. Miroku had been hit directly and forcefully in the back.

Sango shuddered and new tears formed at her eyes.

_Foolish monk! Why did you come for me? You could have very well been killed by Kohaku. And.. for me..._

That thought still clung to her mind.

_Why for me? I'm nothing compared to the dozens of village woman that you flirt with everyday. And you've proved very well that you don't feel for me the way I do for you. So why did you have to be such an idiot and come after me?_

Sango shook her head and stared up at the monk. His eyes had dulled, no longer wide with fear. She wouldn't let herself cry anymore. The young taiji-ya shamed herself for that of which she already had. She was angry with him for confusing her so much. She had never thought of Miroku caring for her before, and now she didn't know what to think or what she wanted to do. Whether to slap him or to embrace him. To hurt him for being such a fool or to kiss away the monks pain.

"You shouldn't have come, Houshi-sama. I would have been fine. You only foolishly brought pain to yourself," Sango lied. She was more than happy to see the monk had come, even though it meant a very severe injury to him, but she hadn't asked for help, she would have been fine without him, one way or another. Kohaku surely wouldn't kill her, he would break free of Naraku like he had before.

She sighed to herself and shook her head. _'I hate arguing with myself,'_

Arms embracing around her neck startled her thoughts, bringing her back to the real world. "H-Houshi-sama?" Her heart beat had finally settled to a normal pace after Kohaku's attack, and now it was once again racing. She was thrilled to have Miroku close to her like this; normally she would have slapped him for being so forward.

"No more pain than that to see you cry, Sango."

Sango looked up at the monk. He was smiling and looking ahead of him as if he hadn't been in any pain at all.

"Houshi-sama." She looked down at the ground. Spots of blood and tears faintly showed through the dirt and her grip on the ground had softened, the soil had dug its way into her nails, just the way her jumbled thoughts had to her mind.

She was more confused now than she had been just a few seconds ago, not to mention that her face had now turned a deep shade of red.

_'Does this mean he really does-' _

Her thoughts were cut short as Miroku's chest pushed closer into her back. Her blush deepened and her fingers curled themselves into a fist. "Dammit Houshi-sama, do you have to ruin every moment?"

Silence.

"Houshi-sama?

Sango pulled her eyes from the ground and to the monks face. It was ghostly white, paler than she had ever seen on a human. His open mouth gave short breath and sweat trimmed the top of his brow.

She sprung up from the ground and watched horrified as Miroku's limp and lifeless body fell hard to the ground, the garments on his back now dyed with crimson blood.

"Houshi-sama!"

* * *

**Auhtors Note: **sigh I've written and re-written this chapter many times now, and I still don't like how this turned out. I've expiramented with different writing styles, trying to be not too literate (I always end up stretching out something so far, it tends to get boring, filled with too much detail) and not too illiterate (I know no one likes to read horribly written fanfictions). 

**On a Lighter Note: **Ok, enough of my complaining. The first thing that came to my mind when I read this was Gwen Stefani's "Bubble Pop Electric". I have no clue why, maybe because I had listened to it so many times the previous day that it was stuck. Make sno sence what-so-ever, the song is nothing like the story.

Oi, I wrote this with a headache. I had run, several times, away from the computer to answer the phone/door and forgot to take off the headphones -.-;; Ugh, I'm a baka.

**Next Chapter:** Don't know when the next chapter will be, major writers block keeping me from continuing on to the next part. Hopefully soon, though.

Thank you for those who are reading fanfiction, I promise it will get better, though the next chapters may be slow untill theplot starts to come in.R&R please. I'm open to any constructive flames but don't be an idiot if you don't like my story. Take time in your flames. I don't want to read "Omg!1111!shiftfortytwo! Ur +0ry uKED! ToT!1111!" They're only laughable.


End file.
